Whists of the week: niqab, corruption and flood
The key to success is always a cool head and strict calculation. Unfortunately, the players were unable to demonstrate these qualities last week. In the red are the head of Yakutia Aisen Nikolaev, deputy Gennady Semigin, Altai governor Viktor Tomenko and head of the Rostov-on-Don administration Alexey Logvinenko. The head of the Human Rights Council Valery Fadeev seems to be in the black, but it’s not clear yet.
Aisen Nikolaev, head of Yakutia. Forced Moscow to solve its problems.
Yakutia is sinking. At the beginning of May, ice drift began in the republic. Due to the resulting accumulations of ice, the Lena River began to overflow and flood populated areas. On May 20, due to the difficult flood situation in the republic, it was necessary to introduce a regional emergency regime.
In total, there are 647 courtyard areas in 16 settlements in the flood zone. Two people died, as well as about 500 horses and cows. More than 3 thousand people lost their property.
On May 22, the head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations arrived in the republic on a working visit Alexander Kurenkov. The arrival of a leader of such rank can always be assessed in two ways. On the one hand, this is attention to the problems of the region, on the other hand, it is a sign that the local leadership is not coping with solving the problem. And it seems that the second version looks more viable. After all, even local Yakut media write that the flood problem might not have arisen if the republican authorities had assessed the degree of the threat in advance and taken the necessary measures.
Programmed result”, states the portal “Yakutia. Info”. According to him, already three years ago scientists noted that the dam did not meet the requirements for the construction of bank protection structures and was not a safe structure.
Valery Fadeev, Chairman of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country). Encroached on the sacred.
An unexpectedly bold proposal for these times was put forward by the main official defender of human rights. Valery Fadeev proposed banning the wearing of niqabs in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).
Let us explain for the uninformed: the niqab is a traditional Muslim headdress that completely covers a woman’s head. Only the eyes remain visible, for which purpose a narrow slit is left in the scarf. What’s most interesting is that niqabs are banned today even in Muslim countries. Thus, a ban on wearing them was introduced in Uzbekistan last year. They are preparing to introduce a similar norm in Kyrgyzstan. The President of Tajikistan also spoke out against niqabs Emomali Rahmon. A formal complaint is that the niqab makes it difficult to identify a person. However, the underlying message is clear: most Muslim women cover their heads with a headscarf, and niqabs are usually worn (and forced to be worn) by radicals who potentially pose a threat. That's why the authorities are against it.
It is not yet clear what Fadeev’s initiative will lead to. It is noteworthy that even the most ardent fighters against the usually speechless migrants this time seemed to have taken water into their mouths, calling for “moving the discussion behind closed doors.” Although it is obvious that the issue requires broad public discussion, otherwise the situation will only worsen. Commentators are probably waiting to see what he will say about this Ramzan Kadyrov, and at the same time the Kremlin. Recently, the Russian authorities have been actively establishing friendship with the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, and there niqabs are the order of the day.
Gennady Semigin, State Duma deputy. He was not the first and, it seems, not the last.
SRZP deputy Gennady Semigin lost his post as head of the State Duma Committee on Nationalities Affairs. As the leader of “A Just Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) – For Truth” explained Sergei Mironov, this is due to “party rotation”. Of course, of course, what else? Not the scandal that a long-time “bronze” comrade-in-arms recently got into. If you don’t remember, last fall a publication appeared on the website of the Patriots of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) movement, which is headed by Semigin. It said that Chechens from the Akhmat unit were “kicking” Russian military personnel onto the battlefield in the Northern Military District zone. Of course, a scandal arose, after which Semigin, following the path trodden by his fellow deputies, announced: they say, I had nothing to do with it, it was hackers who hacked the site. However, the blogger and SVO participant Evgeny Rasskazov considered Semigin’s words an attempt to evade, which he wrote about. Then Semigin sued him, demanding 6 million rubles “for insulting honor and dignity.” As a result, the story “a deputy is trying to sue a soldier” received even greater resonance.
There is no point in discussing either Semigin himself or his actions; here, as they say, everything is clear as day. But whoever is probably rubbing his hands now is, presumably, Sergei Mironov. It has already been reported that Semigin may now lose the post of co-chairman of the SRZP party. Earlier, another co-chairman resigned from his post – Zakhar Prilepin. Thus, Mironov remains the only owner. But why be surprised? Someone, but the leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries could write an entire textbook on the topic: “The Mastery of Political Cooking, or How to Snack on Your Companions”. Dmitry Rogozin, Alexander Babakov, Igor Zotov, Oksana Dmitrieva – how many were there? And where are they now? But Mironov remained on the political Olympus and remains so.
Viktor Tomenko, Governor of the Altai Territory. He caused a corruption scandal in his team.
Key figure of the regional government Tomenko – deputy chairman of the government Ivan Kibardin – was detained in Moscow while receiving a suitcase containing 18 million rubles. In this regard, Viktor Tomenko was forced to fire his deputy, with whom they had a long-standing and trusting relationship dating back to the time they worked together in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The worst thing for the governor is that Ivan Kibardin, who planted a pig on him, knows a lot. And in the pre-trial detention center, as you know, they know how to get the “guest” to talk and they know a lot about it.
Presumably, the investigation associates the origin of the money in Kibardin’s suitcase with the Chinese market of Barnaul (official name “TPK of the Altai Territory”), which was privatized quite recently – in January 2024. Of course, at a minimal cost. Such a deal could not have taken place without Kibardin’s participation. Altai Regional Property sold the market for 189.9 million rubles. Accordingly, the 18 million in the ill-fated suitcase of the deputy chairman could well have been gratitude (kickback) for assistance. If so, then the percentage looked very gentle – less than 10%.
Alexey Logvinenko, city manager of Rostov-on-Don. Continues to frame Governor Golubev.
Last week, the whole of Rostov was gossiping about how residents of a dilapidated five-story building stormed it, trying to take things out of the apartments, and the security forces tried to twist the hands of citizens. The house was declared dangerous for living four years ago, but city authorities were in no hurry to solve the problem. As a result, at the end of January, a wall collapsed in a five-story building, but miraculously there were no casualties. After this, the frightened authorities quickly evicted the people, without even allowing them to pack their things. As usual, they promised any help and, as usual, they exaggerated – to put it mildly. For several months, citizens left without everything asked when they could pick up their things, but officials only fed people “breakfasts.” That's when my patience ran out.
Truly, some good fairy is protecting Alexei Logvinenko, whose managerial qualities continue to raise questions. It would seem that you were lucky – the house did not collapse in January. So help people, at least for show, they will see and appreciate it. But no – the mayor advises victims to take out a mortgage and buy new housing. If you can’t help, organize proper security for the house, but the engineers said that it’s dangerous to even approach it. But former security officer Logvinenko cannot cope with this either. The point of the situation is that with his actions Logvinenko is exposing the regional governor Vasily Golubev. After all, if an emergency happens, they will ask the head of the region, who recommended Logvinenko for the post of mayor. Having a faithful person at hand is always useful, but, as I used to say, Suvorov, “God have mercy, skill is also needed.” As a result, Rostov continually ends up in the federal news in a bad way: either a person will drown in a huge puddle during the rain, or a green grove will go under development.